Katherine Heigl Admits She Was “Naive” When She Made Those “Grey’s Anatomy” Comments Over A Decade Ago

If you look inside all of Hollywood’s “Don’t Do This” manuals, you will find a long chapter dedicated to former Grey’s Anatomy actress Katherine Heigl. There was a time when she was the toast of the town until she started burning bridges and was cast aside for many years. Now as she suits up to shimmy for her next act, she’s commenting on her former follies when she was young, dumb, and full of middle fingers for everyone. Katherine’s past comments about the low quality of writing and long hours as a working actress on Grey’s caused friction with showrunner Shonda Rimes and she left the show after its sixth season. Now that she’s had over a decade to lick her wounds and rebuild her career, Katherine wanted to explain exactly what was going on at the time she began her infamous spiral into temporary obscurity.

During one of Variety’s Actors on Actors interviews (via The Insider), Katherine sat down with former co-star Ellen Pompeo to discuss what happens after you fumble an easy check. Katherine admits the confidence of knowing she had a good-paying gig and awards show buzz made her believe she would always be on top. And in the words of Julia Roberts, that was a big mistake.

Heigl told Variety the success of “Grey’s” emboldened her to speak out at the time.

“I think that gave me this confidence that was a false sense of confidence. It was rooted in something that couldn’t and maybe wouldn’t always last for me,” Heigl said. “So then I started getting real mouthy, because I did have a lot to say, and there were certain boundaries and things that I was not OK with being crossed.”

Katherine also admits she knows her bold statements came from a place where she didn’t know any better. Because when you’re getting money in Hollywood, the powers that be want you to shut up, cash your checks and look pretty. Katherine was having none of that, but she also knows that her ability to speak out came from a place of not knowing any better.

“I was so naive. I got on my soapbox and I had some things to say, and I felt really passionate about this stuff. I felt really strongly,” Heigl said. “I felt so strongly that I also got a megaphone out on my soapbox.”

“There was no part of me that imagined a bad reaction. I felt really justified in how I felt about it and where I was coming from,” she continued.

More than likely, Ellen sat through their entire interview calculating the amount of money Katherine’s missed out on for the past thirteen years trying not to laugh in her face. And meanwhile, Shonda was probably texting Ellen things like “Did she ask about me?” in hopes that their working relationship can be mended once again.

Check out the new Peaches and Herb reuniting in their Variety interview below.

Pic: INSTARImages